The Harvard Medical School Department of Dermatology training grant (now administered by Brigham and Women's Hospital) has a long and distinguished history of preparing individuals for careers in biomedical research relevant to the skin. Research within Dermatology across the Harvard Medical School affiliated hospitals occurs principally at three sites: The Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Cutaneous Biology Research Center, the MGH/Wellman Laboratories of Photomedicine, and the BWH Division of Dermatology Research Laboratories at the Harvard Institutes of Medicine. We do not limit training to these sites, we seek to match the trainee with the best mentor and the best laboratory environment for his/her project and career development, whether it is the Department of Dermatology, other academic departments, or even other institutions. A period of at least two years of postdoctoral training in current research methods, approaches, and experimental design is more essential today than ever before to prepare for a successful career in biomedical science. The most recent funding period (2000 - present) has continued this tradition;of the ten individuals who have or are scheduled to finish their training this funding cycle, eight remain in academic institutions and hold faculty positions. Four have received external funding (including Dermatology Foundation Career Development Awards);two have K08 applications pending. During the next funding period, we will continue to attempt to identify the most deserving candidates, using both established and new approaches to recruitment (e.g., Dermatology Training Grant Website). -Our overarching goal is to continue to provide our academic specialty with the most talented physician- and PhD biomedical scientists who have a commitment to an academic research presence as part of their scientific or clinical career. Given the unsettled future of NIH funding, we believe that this investment in the future has never been more pressing.